Lee aide departs for US to spur follow-up consultations over deal on trade, security

President Lee Jae Myung's national security adviser Wi Sung-lac speaks to reporters before flying to the United States from Incheon Airport on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Director of the presidential National Security Office Wi Sung-lac on Tuesday departed for Washington to speed up follow-up consultations over the deal between South Korea and the United States on trade and security.

Before his departure, Wi told reporters that his trip to meet US officials including Marco Rubio, who doubles as national security adviser and secretary of state, comes at a time when follow-up consultations must be expedited through high-level talks.

Given that some security-related issues involve multiple US federal government departments, Wi said, "It is time to spur working-level consultations through high-level talks between those who oversee foreign affairs and security."

Wi said South Korea's call for greater autonomy in its civil-purpose uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing, as well as its push for nuclear-powered submarine construction in a South Korean shipyard, will be key points of discussion.

Wi stressed the importance of assuring the US that enrichment and reprocessing would not lead to a violation of the world’s nuclear nonproliferation efforts. For South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines, legislative moves are required on the part of the US Congress, Wi said, adding his trip will also revolve around this matter.

Wi added his meeting with Rubio will also discuss US President Donald Trump's role "as a peacemaker" on the Korean Peninsula. As to plans to resume dialogue involving North Korea, Wi said he was seeking to coordinate with not only the US, but also the United Nations.

Wi did not immediately disclose how long his trip would last.

Wi's trip comes a month after the two countries signed a joint fact sheet that they said would accelerate South Korea's strategic investment in US projects, address trade barriers and modernize the decadeslong alliance.

In what President Lee Jae Myung described in November as "a remarkable step forward," South Korea agreed to invest $350 billion in US projects, while the US reduced tariffs on most South Korean goods, including automobiles, to 15 percent and granted South Korea approval to build nuclear-powered submarines to counter geopolitical threats.

The joint fact sheet, released by the White House in November after two rounds of summits between Lee and Trump, indicated that the US "supports the process that will lead to the ROK’s civil uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing for peaceful uses." ROK refers to South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

It also stated that the US has granted approval for South Korea to "build nuclear-powered attack submarines" and that the US "will work closely" with South Korea to advance requirements for the shipbuilding project, including avenues to source fuel.